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May 27, 2015 By Austin Trunick Web Exclusive

The trailer for Barely Lethal is rather misleading. It shows Samuel L. Jackson training Hailee Steinfeld and Sansa Stark to become some sort of kickboxing assassins—there’s a lot to like about it. With its wonderfully gonzo title and ridiculous premise—not to mention that it’s co-distributed by the same company that put out The Bling Ring and Spring Breakers—you could easily be led to believe that it might be a balls-out, over-the-top, and insane action-comedy, but that’s far from the actual case. Barely Lethal has so many opportunities to just go for it, but rarely ever bothers.

Sixteen-year-old special agent Number 83 (Steinfeld) is an operative out of the Prescott School for Girls, a quasi-government program run by Samuel L. Jackson that trains orphan girls to be secret agents. (It’s purpose is never fully explained, but doesn’t need to be.) While on a mission to capture an international terrorist boss—played by Jessica Alba—she fakes her own death so that she’ll be able to live the normal life of a teenager, just like the one she’s seen in movies such as Pretty in Pink and 10 Things I Hate About You. She forges a new identity as Megan Walsh, a Canadian foreign exchange student at Newton high school in suburban nowheresville. Unfortunately for the trained assassin, her teenage social life is threatened when the enemies from her past life come to seek their revenge.

Barely Lethal starts strong, with an animated opening that shows the Prescott agents pulling off James Bond-ish missions, and training scenes where Jackson instructs little girls in efficient killing methods. Once the plot moves from special agent school to normal high school, however, the film’s tone takes a 180 and Megan’s espionage training takes a back seat. Barely Lethal dials down the zaniness and transforms into another high school clique flick—with its generic, bubblegum soundtrack and constant voiceover from its main character; it’s so bland and upbeat that it feels like we’ve been dropped into a Disney Channel original movie. And, it almost could be one—the violence stays rather tame—if it weren’t for several more-awkward-than-edgy jokes. (A few of the more unfortunate moments include an out-of-nowhere, AIDS-related punchline and a jock character with the nickname “Rape-It Ralph.”)

Barely Lethal couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be a gonzo action flick or a self-aware teen movie. The final product is too pedestrian to be Kick-Ass, and not nearly as smart as Mean Girls—it’s a wonky combination of the two that never gels. Even in its best moments, is just a pale imitation of either.

www.barelylethal.com

Author rating: 3/10